Button-setting machine.



Y' Nap-687.7254. Patented Nov. 2'6, |90I.

R. McKAY. BUTTON SETTING MACHINE.

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Patented Nov'. 26,19011-l n. MCKAY. BUTTUN SETTING MACHINE.

(Application med Nav. 5, 1900.)

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UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,r

BUTTON FASTENIN G COMPANY, O

TION OF MICHIGAN.

F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORA- BUTTON-#SETTING4 MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming pare of Letters Patent No. 687,254, dated November 2e, 1901.

Application filed November 5, 1900. Serial No. 35.455. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it 11mg/ concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT MCKAY, a citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Button-Setting lNIachines;.aud I declare the following to be a full, clear, and eX- act description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap-` pertains to make and use the same, reference 'being had to the 'accompanying drawings,"

which forln a part of this specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful-improvements in a button-setting machine, having forits purpose more particularly a machine of this class adapted to set pants-buttons and buttons of a similar character, wherein a two-pronged fastener is cm# ployed to secure the buttons in place.

The invention consists of the construction, combination, and arrangement of devices and appliances hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view in side elevation. Fig. 2 is a view in section on the line 2 2, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the opposite side of the machine from that shown in Fig. 1, with a portion of the fastener-hopper removed. Fig. et is a detail View of the button# delivery arm. Fig. 5 is a View in invertedv plan of the mechanism attached to the lower end of the button-delivery arm. Fig. 6 is a front elevation of a portion of the buttonrunway. Fig. 7 is a detail view showing the fastener-dropper mechanism. Fig. 8 is a view in vertical section on the line 8 8, Fig. 4. Fig. 9 is a detail edge view of the blade 29.

Among the objects of the present invention are the improved mechanism for feeding pants -buttons and analogous buttons from the base of the button-runway tothe work in proper position for the engagement of the prongs of a two-pronged fastening therewith; also improved mechanism to govern the feed of the buttons in the ,buttonrunway.

I carry out my invention as follows: Any supporting-frame is indicated at a. A driving-shaft is indicated at 19,'journaled in saidframe, upon which is mounted a driving-cam @provided on one side tliereofwith a camgroove d to actuate the setting-die and certain features of the button-feeding mechanism `and on the otherside thereof with a camgroove e to actuate certain features of the fastener-feeding mechanism. The cani c is in the nature of a double cam, being con-` Y which a shaft o passes., said shaft being provided with a button-feed wheell 7e and a fastener-wheel Z, rotatable with the shaft o,within their respective hoppers.

A button-runway is indicated at m anda fastener-runway at yt. These runways may be of any desired construction. tener-feed wheel is constructed with a plurality of arms p, three being preferably employed, although it is rnot designed to limit the invention to any particular number of said arms. I do not, however, confine myself to any specific construction of a fastenerfeed wheel nor of the fastener-feedingme'chanism nor to any specific construction of the button-feed wheel.

The machine is provided witlra die-spindle the spindle being made reciprocatory withinthe case y and provided with a lsettimgpdie a at its lower end.` To actuate the spindle, the machine is provided with a lever 100, fulcrumed intermediate its ends, as shown at 2, the inner end thereof being provided with a cam-roll 3, engaged in the cam-groove d ofthe cam-wheel c. The forward end of the lever is engaged with the die-spindle. Thel machine isV provided with a die ory fastener seat 18 and with a plunger or reciprocatory slide 19 to force the fasteners upon said seat. The supporting-frame is provided with a fastener-guideway leading to the seat 18, the forward end of said guideway-being covered,

The fasas at 21, through which covered way the fasteners may be delivered to the seat. Said frame is also provided with suitable guides 22 to guide the reeiprocation of the plunger 19. The plunger 19 is actuated by a lever 23, fulcruined, as at 24, said lever provided with a cam-roll 25, engaged in the cam-groove e of the cam-wheel c. The seat 18 is'provided with fastener-holding blades or arms, (indicated at 26.)

It will be obvious that as the fasteners are delivered from the fastener-hopper with the points projecting downward the position of the fasteners must be reversed, and in order to bring the prongs into proper position for setting they must also be given a partial turn to properly aline t-he prongs-as a quarterturn, for example. l To accomplish this, a fastener-dropper blade 29 is provided atits lower end with a ledge 30, upon which one prong of the fastener may engage. Upon the opposite side of the channel of the runway is located a spring 68, the lower end of which is arranged to exert its tension against the head of a fastener to hold the fastener when the spring is so engaged from dropping therebelow, the springsu pporting the fasteners above the lower fastener in the runway. The blade 29 is iigid with the fulcrum-pin 2 of the lever 100, the fulcrum-pin having a fixed engagement with the lever and oscillating in suitable bearings,tl1e blade 29 being thus carried backward and forward with the rocking of the fulcrum-pin 2, so that its lower end will recede from the chan nel of the runway a and advance toward said channel with the rocking of the lever.

The lower end of the lever and of the spring (5S are so arranged that upon the advancement of the lower end of the blade the lower end of the spring will be moved forward and away from the fasteners, allowing the fasteners to drop in the runway, so that one prong of the lower fastener will rest upon the ledge 30 of the blade 29. Gn the opposite movement of the blade the spring G8 advancing at its lower end against the head of the fastener next above the lower fastener will suspend said fastener in place, while the retraction of the blade 29 will permit the lower fastener to drop.

To feed the buttons to the work, it is preferred to employ a tubular button-receptacle, (indicated at 48,) constructed to contain any desired number of buttons, having its upper end located adjacent to the lower portion of the ruuwaym. This receptacle 4S is supported upon a plate 49, attached to the case of the machine, and is rotatable in said support, any suitable means being employed to aecomplishits rotation. To deliver the buttons from the base of said receptacle, a button-delivery arm is employed, said arm having an oscillatory movement. Said arm is fulcrumed intermediate its ends, a fulcrum-oriice being shown at 53. Said arm may be made oscillatory by means of a connecting rod 54, united therewith and connected at the opposite end with the lever 23, as indicated at 103.

At the base of the delivery-arm 50 is a carrier-plate 74, preferably constructed with a rearwardly-opening recess 75. Said plate is provided on its under side with a shoulder 77, against which abutton (indicated at 7S) may be engaged. On the under side of the plate '74 is an oscillatory arm 79, a spring SO bearing thereagainst and exerting a spring tension thereupon. It will be seen that as the arm 50 oscillates the carrier-plate 74 will transfer the lower button in the receptacle into position to be engaged by the fastening. The oscillating arm 79 is preferably recessed, as indicated at S1, to more securely bind it against a button and hold it against the shoulder 77. The arm 79 is shown fulcrumed at 82. The arm 50 is provided with a frictionarm 83, contacting with the hub 90 to rot-ate the hub as the arm 50 is actuated.

S5 denotes a forked spindle made vertically reeiprocatory through a guide-plate SG, attached to the frame, said fork being designed to engage astride the attaching-bar of a button in order to properly aline the eyes ofthe button or bring the eyes into proper position for the prongs ofthe fastener to project therethrough.

A bell-crank S7 support-s the said fork, said bell-crank actuated by a projection S4 on the cam c, the bell-crank being fulcrumed, as shown at S9. It will be seen that as the bellcrank S7 is actuated the fork will be raised and lowered accordingly.

The base of the receptacle 4S is provided with a hub 90, against which the friction arm or plate 83 strikes as the arm 50 is operated. The operation of this portion of the mechanism is as follows: The rod 54 being actuated by the lever 23, the lever 50 is oseillatcd, thereby bringing the friction-arm 83 in moving contact with the hub 90, thereby rotating the receptacle 48 so as to bring the lower button in said receptacle into proper engagement with the arms of the fork S5. Vhen so engaged, obviously the lower button will be held from further rotation. This will properly locate the eyes of the button. The plate 74 is moved under the receptacle 48 to engage the lower button. The forks 91 and 92 on either side the recess 75 are constructed to ride in between the lower button in the receptacle 48 and the buttons thereabove, thereby supporting the buttons thereabovc. As the plate 74 moves thus under the button-receptacle the lower button is engaged by and clamped between the spring-arm 79 and t-he shoulder 77, and when the arm 50 moves in the opposite direction the button will be withdrawn from the receptacle and carried forward under the die .e or into position indicated in dotted lines at 78 in Fig. l. The descent of the die will release the button from the button-delivery arm and its related parts,

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the spring-pressed arm 79 yielding for this purpose. The bell-crank87 being actuated in proper order, the fork 85 is released fr om the button before the delivery-arm carries the button forward under the die in the manner hereinbefore described. To govern the feed of the buttons in the runway m, I employ a bellcrank fulcru med to the frame, as shown at 94, said bell-crank provided with arms 95 and 96. Upon the upper face of the runway m are spring-arms 98 and 99, the arm 99 being provided with a finger 97 to support the adjacent button in the runway, while the arm 9S is constructed'with a finger or ledge 106 at its lower end to engage under the lower button in the runway. These spring-arms 9S and 99 are arranged to be moved out of the way of the buttons in the runway by means of the arms 95 and 96. The bell-crank 94 may be actuated in anysuitable manner, as by means of a bracket-arm 101 upon the lever 100, contacting therewith in the movement of said lever, a spring 102 retracting the said bellcrank. It will be evident that when the rear end of the bell-crank is tilted forward the spring-arm 98 will be disengaged from the lower button of the runway, the arm 99 of the spring 97 being moved into place to support the buttons thereabove. Thus on opposite movements of the bell-crank 94 a single button is permitted to drop from the spring-arm 98, a button being released from the base of` the runway to drop into the receptacle 48 upon each operation of the bell-crank.

The fastener and the button-hoppers are preferably constructed with an inner peripheral groove, (indicated at 15,)'the outer ends of the feeding-blades projecting into said groove. Said groove projects outward from the inner chamber or apartment of the hopper, the same being of sufficient Width to admit the outer ends o f the feeding-blades, but not wide enough to admit the buttons or fasteners, as the case may be. It is found that the prongs of the fastener in a fastener-hopper and the attaching portion of abutton in the button-hopper projecting into said groove greatly facilitates the gathering of the fasteners or buttons, as the case may be, upon the feeding-blade.

I prefer that the plate 74 shall be carried by the lever 50 by means of an arm 103, adjustable in a holder-plate 104, secured to the adjacent t'ace of the lever 50, a spring 105 engaging the arm'103 and permitting the blade 74 to yield, as indicated more particularly in dotted lines in Fig. 8.

What I claim as my invention ish- 1. In a fastener-setting mechanism, the combination with a fastener-ru uway provided with a channel, of a lever, a fulcrum in xed engagement with the lever, a dropper-blade connected with the fulcrum and oscillatory with the rocking of the fulcrum to engage a prong of the fastener in the runway, and a tacle and a device to engage a button and v bring its-eyes into desired position.

3. In a button-setting machine, the combination with a button-runway, of a setting-die,

'a rotatable receptacle into which said runway discharges, and an oscillatory delivery-arm provided with a carrier-plate to carry a button from the base of thefrecept-acle into position to be set, means to rotate said receptacle and a vertically-movable device to engage a button and bring its eyes into desired position.

4. In a button-setting machine, the combination with abutton-runway, of a setting-die, a rotatable receptacle into which said runway discharges, and an oscillatory delivery-arm providedwith a carrier-plate, means carried by said arm arranged to engage said receptacle and rotate the same.

5. In a button-setting machine, the combination with a button-runway, of a setting-die, a rotatable receptacle into which said runway discharges, a movable fork to engage a button and bring its eyes intoy desired position,

means to actuate said fork, and an oscillatory delivery-arm provided with means for carrying a button, said delivery-arm provided with means to rotate said receptacle.

6. ,In a button-setting machine, the combination with a button-runway, of a setting-die, a rotatable receptacle into which said runway discharges, an oscillatory delivery-arm provided with a carrier-plate at the base of the receptacle, a spring-arm carried by said plate to engage and hold a button against the carrier-plate, a friction-arm to actuate said receptacle carried by said delivery-arm, and means to engage a button to bring its eyes into desired position.

7. In a button-setting machine, the combination with a button-runway, of a rotatable receptacle into which said runway discharges, an oscillatory delivery-arm provided with a carrier-plate at the base of said receptacle, a spring-arm secured to said plate to engage and hold a button against the carrier-plate, said delivery-arm provided with a frictionarm to rotate said receptacle, a verticallymovable forked spindle below said receptacle to engage the lower button in the receptacle and aline the eyes of the butt-on, and a device to depress said spindle.

8. In a button -setting machine provided with a fastener-seat and with a setting-die, the combination of a button-runway, a ro- ICO IIO

tatable leoeptale into which said runway dis- I anism out of the way to permit the operation ehm-ges, means to feed buttons one by one of the earl-ier.

into said receptacle, means to rotate Said re- I n tesLimony whereof I sign this specifica-l oeptacle, a carrier device to engage the lower tion in the presence of two witnesses.

button in said receptacle and carry it under ROBERT MCKAY. the die,` mechanism to aline the lower button Witnesses:

in the receptacle with the prongs of the fas- I N. S. WRIGHT, tener, and means to move the mining mech- 1 M. HICKEY. 

